


A Story No One Tells

by Tabithian



Series: These Things I've Found [5]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 05:59:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4379906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabithian/pseuds/Tabithian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason looks around at dead and dying goons. (Too damn easy.) Steps over an out-flung hand and comes to a stop before the chair set up at its center. (An unexpected complication that could mean trouble if he's not careful.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Story No One Tells

**Author's Note:**

> Side story in the [These Things I've Found](http://archiveofourown.org/series/25372) universe featuring Jason and his terrible life choices. 
> 
> IDK, just. *hands*

Jason looks around at dead and dying goons. (Too damn easy.) Steps over an out-flung hand and comes to a stop before the chair set up at its center. (An unexpected complication that could mean trouble if he's not careful.)

Lit by an overhead light, slender figure bound by ropes, arms wrenched painfully back, eyes covered by a filthy strip of cloth, blood smeared across the figure's face, staining the front of his shirt.

“Who the hell are you?” Jason asks, giving the guy a quick once over as he moves closer, keeping just outside the little circle of light.

Expensive clothes, ruined now, but still expensive. Easily the quality of the stuff Bruce wears, but.

The guy cocks his head, tracking Jason by sound as he circles around him, trying to figure the bastard out.

Young, rich, so what the hell is he doing mixing with Gotham's criminal element? (Not that it looks like they were buddies, exactly, given the beating the bastard's taken, but that doesn't really mean anything in Gotham.)

“Why don't you tell me who you are, instead?” the guy asks, and Jason goes still because he sounds _young_. 

Younger than Jason estimated.

“You always answer a question with a question?”

There's a moment of silence, and then - 

“Do you?”

And Jason, okay. 

Jason sighs, puts his guns away and comes up in front of the kid. Watches as he straightens, wincing as he does, and looks up where he thinks Jason's face should be.

“If you're here to kill me, would you mind taking the blindfold off first? It itches.” 

And - 

“Something is wrong with you,” Jason mutters, reaching over to slip the blindfold off the kid's face.

Steps back and watches him blink and squint and scowl as his eyes adjust to the lighting, Sees the kid's gaze snap to him moments later, evaluating.

“You're new,” the kid says, “I'd remember you.”

“The fuck.”

The kid shrugs, even though it gets another wince, and opens his mouth to speak just as the skylight explodes and several figures drop down, fanning out around them.

Jason has time to see the kid's eyes widen before one of the newcomers slips between them and comes at Jason with a snarl in her throat. He throws himself clear and rolls to his feet in time to see the other figures closing in on the kid - 

“Oh, fuck it,” Jason mutters, because he doesn't know who the kid is or what he's doing here, but he could be important, useful (he's a goddamn kid, and there still some bat in Jason). He goes for his guns as the assassin – and it's the only word for her he can come up with – is running at him, teeth bared in a vicious grin. 

“Don't kill him!” the kid yells, and all movement stops.

Jason freezes as his guns clear their holsters, sees the assassin drop into a crouch, knives held ready.

“The hell, Boss?”

Jason's eyes narrow at that, at the way the others untie the kid, hovering around him as he makes his way to where Jason and the assassin are facing off.

“Pru,” the kid chides, and with a disgusted snort, the assassin's knives disappear, she comes up on her feet and rounds on the kid who's being supported by other kids, what the fuck.

“This is going to bite you on the ass one day, mark my words.”

The kid smiles, a _hmm, yes, I'll take that under advisement, thank you ever so much_ and gives her a small nod. “Noted.”

They stare at one another for a long moment, and then the assassin snorts again, looks around and starts barking orders to the minions scattered around the room.

“Five minutes,” she snaps, poking the kid in the chest. “GCPD are already on their way.” A disdainful lip curl aimed at Jason. “Reports of gunfire, screaming.”

Jason wasn't going for subtle here, okay. He was making a goddamned statement, sort of a _Hey, motherfuckers, I'm back in town. Get ready to fucking die_.

“Bat activity?” the kid asks, and that - 

“Someone, “ the assassin looks pointedly at Jason, “has been on a hunting spree, taking out Black Mask's men all over Gotham. They're investigating, but spread a little thin at the moment. We have time.”

The kid frowns, ignores when it opens the crack on his lip, fresh blood welling up.

“Should have killed you when I had the chance,” Jason finds himself saying, ignoring the growl form the assassin and the way the others turn to look at him. “You're no better than these guys.”

The kid blinks, looks around at the bodies littering the warehouse, mouth turning down, and back at Jason. 

“Maybe,” he says, with a tired smile. “Maybe I'm worse.”

And that - 

Jason snarls, pushes close even though he knows its stupid, probably going to get him killed. (Again.)

“ _Boss_.”

“We're leaving,” the kid says, flicks a look at the assassin, his people. “Now.”

There's a moment of silence, the assassin glaring at Jason before directing the rest of the kid's people, and then - 

“Who the hell are you?”

The kid shrugs, turns to leave. 

“Find me,” he says, “when you figure it out.”

********

Which is why Jason's breaking into a penthouse at the top of the Drake Industries building and being held at bay by what look like some of Ivy's plants and an angry cat with a chunk missing from one ear.

“Oh,” the kid says, flicking the light on. “Hello.”

Jason scowls, moves for his gun, ready to take out one of Gotham's big bads - 

“Try it,” the assassin says sweetly, blade against Jason's throat at just the right spot where the helmet and neck of Jason's suit don't quite meet. “Please.”

“Pru,” the kid says, disapproving. “We're trying to forge an alliance with him.” 

Jason almost laughs at that, but there's a pair of Ivy's flytraps trying to trip him up, that damn cat and the goddamn assassin.

“Good luck with that,” the assassin snips, stepping back. “He's been killing off Black Mask's men and anyone else who catches his attention, Boss. I don't think he came here to make friends.”

No, in point of fact, Jason came here to kill the kid who is apparently one of the smarter fuckers operating out of Gotham if Bruce and his people haven't managed to pin anything on them.

“What she said,” Jason says, and watches the kid totally not react.

The assassin, on the other hand - 

“Pru.”

An aggravated sigh, narrow-eyed look directed at the kid and the assassin glaring at Jason. “You're going to put me out of a job one of these days, Boss.”

The kid smiles, shrugs, says, “Tam will need you when that happens.” 

Jason stares at that, at the _when_ , not _if_. 

Another sigh, another glare, and the assassin walks away, grumbling to herself. The kid watches her go, something like actual fondness on his face, and then he's looking at Jason.

“You've been busy,” the kid says, like he's impressed. “Got the Bats riled up.”

A pointed look, like the kid expects what, an apology? Like Jason should feel bad for making the Bats, _Bruce_ go all uber-paranoid, sticking his nose in the kid's business more than usual trying to find out who the fuck is upsetting Gotham's underworld this time? 

Jason's done some research, cracked a few skulls and sifted through what fell out since their little run in at the warehouse.

The kid. He's not wrong about being worse than Black Mask, in his own way, but - 

“I don't get you,” Jason ends up saying.

The kid's got an extensive network throughout Gotham, and if the rumors are true, its reach is global. He has ins and outs of several criminal operations, and somehow, somehow, none of the worst ones will mess with him. (To a point. There's no real honor among Gotham's thieves, just wary respect born of fear and the threat of death or worse.)

“Hmm,” the kid says, smiling faintly. “I tend to get that a lot.”

The kid's dangerous, because he's smart, not crazy like most of Gotham's baddies. Smart enough that Bruce and the others consider him and his operations as low-priority. (Goddamn, they're so stupid sometimes.)

He doesn't deal in things like drugs, or prostitution, anything that would bring Bruce - _Jason_ \- down on him, but.

“I'll bet,” Jason says, eyes him.

A shrug, the kid bending down to pick up the cat who's gone from angry and hissing to demanding noises.

“What are you here for?” the kid asks, unafraid, and Jason - 

“You know she's League-trained?” Jason finds himself asking, finally able to place that niggling feeling that's been bothering him since he ran into the kid and his pack of weirdos. 

A smile, no, _smirk_

“Ra's was a bit irritated when I...borrowed her, but we've come to an agreement since then.”

Of course the kid knows Ra's. Of course he's dealt with Ra's before, why the fuck not.

“What does that even mean?”

Another one of those little smiles of his, another amused little shrug.

“He thinks I'll give in and agree to be his heir one day,” he says, as if that's not a big goddamn deal. “I foil his plots and destroy various strongholds of his and, sometimes, borrow his people, if they're willing.”

Jason stares at him.

The kid rolls his eyes, smile turning downright _fond_. 

The _fuck._

“He uses them to keep tabs on me.”

And that - 

“I take it back,” Jason says. “You're just as crazy as everyone else in this fucking town.”

“Hmm.”

Jason sighs.

“I'm watching you,” he says, because.

Because the kid's dangerous, but just like with the Bats, not exactly a high priority on Jason's list at the moment with everything else in Gotham.

********

Things go on like that for a while, Jason running into the kid or his people every so often, the kid trying to win him over to his side. Jason shutting that shit down fast because like hell is he going to fall in with someone like him. 

The kid being a persistent little fucker, showing up at Jason's safe houses when he's laying low after getting a little fucked up after taking down what's left of Black Mask's organization or someone who thinks Jason's going to be an easy target. Making himself at home, like they're _friends_ , while that damn assassin criticizes his security measures.

And then - 

“Jesus fuck, what are you even doing?” Jason asks, staring down at the kid.

The kid tries for a smile, but its not working too well with the blood and bruises and how the fuck does this keep happening? The kid's got one of Ra's League trained assassins working for him, he shouldn't get grabbed this often.

“All part of my brilliant plan,” the kid slurs, out of it thanks to whatever the fuckers gave him, little dot of blood on his arm from the needle. “Also, I think something's broken.”

Jason sighs, helps the kid over a body sprawled on the floor. Doesn't think about how damn close the kid came to getting his head blown off before he stepped in, and freezes when goddamn _Dick_ drops down from the rafters in front of them.

“Jesus, Tim,” he breathes, eyes locked on the kid's face. 

“Hey,” the kid says, going for that smile again. “Sorry I missed our date.”

Laughs, although it veers dangerously close to a giggle towards the end. “I was a little tied up.”

Jason makes a strangled sound that draws Dick's attention, and now, now Dick is staring at him.

“Jason?”

“Shut it,” Jason says, like he didn't tear through these fucking lowlifes when one of his informants told him these fuckers grabbed some big shot from under his pet assassin's nose. Like he's not helping the kid from pitching over onto his face. “And take the kid, I've got business to deal with.”

Dick makes a noise in his throat, like he wants to say something about that, but the kid's not doing too well, some kind of drug in his system and looking like a fucking mess. And if these two are stupid enough to have feelings for one another - 

“Don't,” Tim says, clumsily puts his hand on Jason's shoulder. “My people will handle this.”

Jason barks a laugh because right, right, They've done a fantastic job of it so far, letting their boss get grabbed like this. (More than once, the fuck.)

“Please,” the kid says, and Jason.

“Fuck it, you deal with him,” Jason says, and pushes the kid to Dick.

Doesn't look when the kid murmurs Dick's name, pats his face and sighs like he's home.

Not his fucking business.

********

“They have no fucking clue, do they?” Jason asks, eyeing the damn flytraps warily.

He's seen the little monsters take a bite out of people going after the kid being dumb enough to get close, thinking _hey, like plants could do anything, right?_ (As though they'd never heard of Ivy.)

The kid, _Tim_ , smiles.

He's looking a hell of a lot better than the last time Jason saw him.

“All part of my brilliant plan,” he says.

And Jason.

He _has_ been watching Tim, keeping tabs on him and his operations here in Gotham, the aboveboard ones and the ones that aren't so much, and.

Jason's seen the way the kid treats his people. How willing he is to burn the world down for them if it comes to that. (How the reverse is true, definitely more than Tim realizes because he's just that kind of idiot.)

Tim.

He's really kind of terrifying.

Bruce and the others really don't know how much, though, because _Tim._

Tim, who is watching him, waiting.

They want the same things for Gotham, even if their methods differ somewhat. (For someone with an assassin as a bodyguard, Tim's strangely averse to killing.)

“Fuck it,” Jason says, sighs a little because this fucking _idiot_. “I'm in.”


End file.
